My host mom insisted that I rest and sleep in (I got up at 8, people rise with the sun here, usually very early) because I seemed tired yesterday (probably just overwhelmed) and then she said she would take me to the town market. Sonia prepared a huge breakfast, as usual. There was a huge portion of cantaloupe (I did not like this in the States, but I’ve been forcing myself to eat everything here, and I admit it is better. The fruit here is amazing, and I usually don’t even like fruit. I could live off of la pina jaguayana). We had a dish called molita, which is potatoes, cheese, onions, and butter, with a fried egg on top, which was really good but she put a mountain on my plate! And Sonia made a juice (they make all of their juices from fresh fruit) out of tomate de arbol (tree tomato) which I was not a fan of but she told me that people drink it to lose weight so I sucked it down (I can already feel my ass jiggling from all the fried foods they’ve been giving me). And instant coffee, which is much better here!
So we went to the central market here in Tumbaco and Sonia showed me a million different fruits and vegetables that I’ve never seen before. Sonia bought 5 or 6 for me to try. Today, I tried the tomate de arbol (yuck) and reinaclaudia, which is sort of like a nectarine but really juicy and not very sweet and surprisingly good. The market is overwhelming for me, I definitely need to improve my Spanish before going on my own. And the buses here are NUTS! They don’t come to a complete stop, you have to run/briskly walk and jump on! And they’re packed (which was common in SF, so I don’t mind so much) but they drive really crazy and fast and they don’t even close the door. It’s kinda fun. In a scary way.
When we got back from the market, we set our stuff down and picked up Javier and went to the capital! It was awesome and an unexpected surprise! It’s over an hour away by bus so I thought I’d have to wait until at least next weekend and maybe go with some other volunteers, but my host parents love showing me around, they’re really great people. We went to Old Town Quito and did a tour of La Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus which houses the remains of a famous Ecuadorian saint, Santa Marianita, whose miracle was keeping earthquakes from hitting Quito for the rest of her life. There is also this really cool contraption in the church with cajitas (little boxes) and the Padres would put their secrets in the boxes, it could be money or letters or jewelry, and their secrets would be safe because legend has it that if you open a cajita, your tongue would fall off. (At least I think this is what they were telling me in Spanish lol). I was tempted to try it but it would be severely detrimental to my job to lose my tongue...
Then we ate in an area of Old Town Quito called La Ronda, which is where all the tourists stay. I had a dish called Llapingacho which is sausage and a fried egg and tortillas made of potatoes and cheese. It was pretty awesome but the aji got me again (the spicy stuff), it looked different so I tried it. IT WAS HOT. While we were waiting for the bill, a guitarist walked in and started playing “Hey, Jude” by the Beatles. I pretended my mom was sending me a big hug from far away.
I love baby Eileen. All day I try to make her laugh. She is a very happy baby but she’s studying me because I look different, she just stares and cocks her head to the side. I’ve figured her out though, she likes a good game of hide and seek, and she likes when I pretend to eat her hands (because she always eats her hands). It’s really nice having her around because it’s something that her parents and I can bond over, I talk about my nephew a lot, and we always have something to laugh about- ella es muy chistosa.
Today was another really good day. I think I’m falling in love. Something bad has to happen soon, right? Cosmic balance? Anyway, I’m really hoping to be able to go to an internet café tomorrow. My host parents are dropping me off and picking me up at “school” (training at the compound) so I don’t get lost J So hopefully I can stop in and at least send some emails tomorrow and finally post these to my blog.
Sending you my love.
Chels
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